Pizza fritta is fried pizza dough topped with your favourite pizza toppings. Crisp, golden and puffy on the outside, they’re soft and chewy inside and utterly delicious.
FOR THE PIZZA FRITTA DOUGH (or use 250g / ½lb store-bought)
¾cup + 1 tablespoon warm water(200ml)
1 ¼teaspoonsinstant yeast
1teaspoonsugar
260gbread flour(2 cups / 9.1oz)
¾teaspoonsalt
3teaspoonsolive oil
1cupneutral flavoured vegetable oil, like canola oil
FOR THE MARGHERITA PIZZA TOPPING
1batch homemade pizza sauce (or ¾ cup store bought)
2small balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly
Fresh basil leaves
FOR THE PESTO PROSCIUTTO TOPPING
6slicesprosciutto
½cupbasil pesto
½cupsmooth ricotta
6olives, pits removed, sliced
pinchof salt and pepper
Rocket leaves (arugula)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small jug and whisk to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes until it starts to look puffy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook, add the flour, salt and olive oil. Pour in the yeast mixture and give it a rough mix with the dough hook until it starts coming together.
Knead on low setting for 3 minutes.
Rub a little oil on your hands to make handling the dough easier. Lightly oil a medium bowl and place the dough in, flipping until it's lightly oiled all over. Cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place until it has doubled in size – see notes.
After it has risen, remove the plastic wrap and gently turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut the dough into 6 even pieces Use your fingers to shape it into a circle, roughly 13cm / 5 inches. If it's sticking to your hands just gently drop it in the flour.
Rub a little flour over the backs, then place the disks of dough flour side down onto a large baking paper covered baking sheet and let them sit for another 15 minutes to prove.
Preheat the oven to warming temperature. Line a medium baking tray with paper towel and place it inside the oven ready for keeping your pizzas warm.
In a deep non-stick skillet / frying pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. The oil should be about 8mm/⅓ inch deep. It’s hot enough when you dip the end of a wooden spoon in it and it bubbles.
Place a piece of dough (or up to 2-3 depending on the size of your pan) into the hot oil and fry until golden brown underneath - 1-2 minutes. Use tongs to turn them, and repeat on the other side. Transfer to the paper towel lined tray in the warm oven while you do the second batch.
FOR THE MARGHERITA TOPPING (or filling, see notes):Heat the pizza sauce in a small saucepan until hot.
Slice the mozzarella if you haven’t already and prepare your basil leaves.
Spread a tablespoon of hot sauce over each pizza fritta and immediately top with mozzarella slices and basil. Serve immediately.
FOR THE PESTO & PROSCIUTTO TOPPING (or filling, see notes):Spread 1 tablespoon of the ricotta over each pizza fritta followed by the pesto.
Top with a piece of prosciutto, letting it fall into a little pile then scatter over olives and rocket leaves.
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Notes
FOR BEST RESULTS: you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop)
FLOUR: The bread flour can be swapped for plain / all purpose flour. Bread flour gives a slightly chewier texture to the baked pizza base.
YEAST: You can use instant or active dry interchangeably. If you have rapid rise, the dough may rise quicker than this recipe states.
KNEADING BY HAND: You can knead the dough by hand but it is a little sticky. Please resist the urge to add flour. It will eventually firm up and stop sticking to your hands and bench top. It should take around 10 minutes to get smooth and elastic.
RISING TIME: Normally half an hour will be enough for the dough to double in size (especially if you place it under a warm light or lamp) but it may take up to an hour or longer in winter. Just make sure it doubles in size.
SLOW RISE: For a more intense flavour to the pizza dough, leave it to rise overnight in the fridge.
FILLING THE PIZZA FRITTA: Pizza fritte can be filled or topped. The recipe above is for topping them but you can fill them instead. The fillings can be cold. Simple add them to the centre of each disk of dough, then fold the two sides to meet in the middle above the fillings. Roll and pinch the seam together all the way along, then flatten out very slightly and fry just as you would the unfilled ones.
FREEZING DOUGH: You can freeze pizza dough after the first rise. After turning it out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into a ball, coat with a little oil all over and place in a zip lock bag. Place it straight in the freezer for up to 2 months.
TO THAW: Place in the fridge overnight. Take it out of the fridge ½ an hour before you’re ready to make pizza.
Nutritional information based on the Margherita version.
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.